


Of Whiskers and Feelings

by akumao



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Cat Parents, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Jeon Wonwoo is Whipped, Jeon Wonwoo-centric, M/M, Roommates, Tsundere Wonwoo, a lot of smiling, but hes super soft on the inside, i'll continue tagging as the story goes on, mingyu is oblivious, they adopt a stray cat, wonhui are best friends, wonwoo is emotionally constipated, wonwoo is really good at hiding his feelings from mingyu, wonwoo's resting bitch face thrives, yo wonwoo is crushing bad it's almost unhealthy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23865964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akumao/pseuds/akumao
Summary: Wonwoo has a gigantic crush on Mingyu, and an abandoned kitten probably makes it worse.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu
Comments: 5
Kudos: 50





	Of Whiskers and Feelings

**Author's Note:**

> lol so like this is my first story on ao3 but not the first fanfic i ever wrote
> 
> idk how to do this so uh yes :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He gently parts the stems to find the smallest kitten he has ever seen, dirty and severely malnourished in the way its fur is grimly covered in dirt and its skin sticking to the bones. The cat's eyes are shut, some weird goop on both ends of the eyes as it's swollen over. It smells him and starts moving its head in different directions then tries to stand. On weak legs, it wobbles and falls.
> 
> His chest constricts, and he knows right there and then that he is not leaving this kitten on its own. He slips his wool sweater off and slowly goes to wrap it around the kitten, making sure to swaddle it in a way it feels comfortable. Once he knows he's got it warm with the way it cuddles deeper into the fabric with a soft meow, he's speed-walking yet again but back to his apartment.

In any case, Wonwoo could count today as a day not as significantly shitty as any other. His professor who seemed to hate every living being in his immediate vicinity had complimented his performance on a presentation he put his all in, the small cafe he often frequented gave him a sudden discount on his order for being a valued customer, the thesis he has worked on since the start of the year was down to its final readjustments and editing, and Jun was being less of a prick of a best friend than he normally was. Today would've been a good day.

But if it weren't for that bitch of a partner he had in his last class of the day—Physics, who constantly brushed off his advances of actually completing their project with her excuses being "why does it even matter?" and "it's due two weeks from now anyway", then today would have been perfect, splendid even.

Now, Wonwoo was walking back to his apartment absolutely fuming. Though capable, he was not in any mood to individually carry a project that would cost half his grade, and with his other projects and paid tutoring sessions piling up by the hour, an extra burden like an indifferent partner would be almost detrimental to what he would wish to be an unscathed student record.

Not to mention the due dates. All requirements due right before their winter break? Which was, terrifyingly, only a good three weeks from today? He is ready to fire up his coffee machine which miraculously went unused for a good month.

Wonwoo hoped for the counting days to take mercy on him and his already crippling sleep schedule and immune system, but at this point, it seemed like it was comparable to wishing for a unicorn dressed in a frilly pink tutu to magically appear before him.

Before he knows it, he's angrily jamming his house keys into the door and opening it with a little too much force, causing the rusty hinges to shriek unpleasantly throughout the apartment. He internally winces from the sound.

A low whistle alerts Wonwoo as he faces a man who seems to just exit the open kitchen, a dry towel in his hands as he wipes away whatever was on them. "I guess we need to get that fixed, huh?" The man shakes his head at the door with a sigh but turns his eyes to Wonwoo, and judging by his facial expression, he doesn't know whether to be concerned or amused. "Another freeloader as a partner?"

With that, Wonwoo lets a silent groan rumble from his throat, ending with a half-defeated, half-desperate cry as he trudges to the sofa and sinks into the corner, reveling in the feeling of soft cushions. "Don't get me started. She feels as though going to school won't affect her future and life choices, so she's sticking to fucking around until she, hopefully, drops out. That's what I wish anyway." He sees the other figure walking to his direction until the sides of his leg rests against the armrest of the couch.

"As your roommate and close friend, I feel obliged to comfort you. Coffee or Jasmine?" And before Wonwoo could open his lips, he interrupts him. "Ah, don't tell me; I already know." The man now walks away, back to the kitchen.

The number of times situations like this happen is too much for all the fingers accounted for on Wonwoo's hands to count, and every time he returns home sunken like he is currently, his "roommate and close friend" is always ready to indulge his rants and frustrations whilst keeping him company while he bitches about whatever thing under the sun was bothering him at that moment. However, truth be told, he wasn't the type of person to yap about his problems to other people whether or not they wanted to listen. Wonwoo was a simple man, not portraying anything on his face that wasn't a blank stare or a questioning glare on normal days. He wasn't—say—emotionless, but due to his limited range of tone and face, people who didn't know him might as well say he was.

Even with this, he wasn't immune to the pains and brutalities of several glaring dilemmas he had to go through. He was a university student on the brink of graduating, yet his dreams of being a published author were slipping through his fingers bit by bit, he felt more homesick than ever being away from his family back in Changwon, and he was constantly swallowed in expectations as his face of being a reliable and trustworthy student has brought him a reputation amongst his classmates and teachers. And though his demons love to eat him up every single day, he has always kept these problems to himself.

Well—

Not until some carefree, happy-go-lucky, almost puppy-like idiot decided to clobber down the walls surrounding Wonwoo with his bare hands, and as he looks to the kitchen, he sees said idiot staring intensely at their electric water boiler like it contained the secrets to the universe. He cannot suppress the small grin already welcoming itself to his face; it's almost impossible. As Wonwoo keeps his eyes to the man, his name repeats in his head like a small mantra, and the more he thinks about it, the better it sounds each time. The smile he has is unchanging; he almost hates the effect that his roommate has over him.

Mingyu was a tall and clumsy man who _literally_ stumbled into his life two years ago—more specifically: stumbled on top of him. Wonwoo was a struggling sophomore while Mingyu, an excited, starry-eyed freshman. The former was tackling another problem added into his list of dilemmas: finding a new roommate as his old one bailed on him and moved back in with his parents. He was a tutor in the hours after classes where he was supposed to be asleep and unbothered. Yet, after various meetings with elementary students, high school students, and everything far and in between, whatever amount he accumulated at the end of the day could barely scrape the half-point the annual rent fees cost. Safe to say: he was sort of, maybe, a bit frazzled. The thought of advertising the space around was the best he could do because _apparently_ asking your best friend to move in with you was not an option, which was his first and only option- not until Jun scratched his head through the screen of his phone, telling him that he was planning to move in with his high school sweetheart that lived two blocks away. Wonwoo had no qualms with it. Maybe he was bitter, sure, but he got over it pretty quickly realizing that imagining bashing Jun's head in with a frying pan on loop was not going to do anything.

At least Jun was decent enough to infer people to him and ask if they were interested; hell, even Minghao was helping.

Though with their combined efforts, it was pitifully useless. Wonwoo had given up. All the people who applied were, in kind words, not it. He dares not divulge further.

However, Wonwoo remembers the day it all happened like it was ingrained in his brain, and after coming back to it so many times, it might as well be etched there in gold script. The memory is still fresh in his mind, and it holds a soft place in his heart. With the rent payment due in a matter of days, Wonwoo had to figure out how to scrap up every single won he currently had to pay off the fee, but it fell short. Now, he was kind of hoping for some kind of miracle to fall from the heavens because he will do everything to avoid the sight of the sweet old woman of a landlady, who stood half his height, to turn into the beast he saw kicking out a middle-aged man to the streets with no mercy, her tiny toy puddle following after her.

He was walking home from a day with one of his accounting major friends who tried to comfort him away from a mini panic attack. The sun still shone brightly overhead in complete contrast to how Wonwoo felt in the moment. He mindlessly walked to his apartment with a heavy feeling in his chest, but somewhere along the way, he suddenly felt as though something _might_ or _could_ happen.

Wonwoo reached the building in no time at all, the hopeful feeling in his chest still ever apparent. He's about one foot up the flight of wooden stairs until his phone starts ringing from his front pocket. To his confusion and surprise, it was Minghao. The fucker never really called him. Aside from asking menial questions out of the blue (" _Hyung, if a doctor has a heart attack while performing a surgery, will the other doctors and nurses present work on him first?_ ") or asking about Jun's whereabouts, there was no other reason to talk to him through the phone. Tapping the green button, he's about to ask what dumbass question he now has, but he's beaten to it.

 _"Hyung, you're not going to believe this."_ Came his voice that sounded more excited with each passing word.

Wonwoo only raised his eyebrow though Minghao, who was on the other end of the line, obviously couldn't see it. "If this is about Jun managing to stuff more than forty marshmallows in his mouth, I already know."

A confused _huh?_ came from the speaker. _"Wha- wait, no. This isn't about that. Your apartment, Hyung! We found you a roommate!"_ Minghao, seeming like he can already sense Wonwoo's look of distaste, hushes him even if he did not even speak a word yet. _"And I swear to you, by holy heaven and high horse, this guy you'll like."_

Call him a skeptic, but after so many horrid interviews with past possible roommates, it was almost impossible for Wonwoo to imagine a somewhat decent person to apply. "Okay, listen. First off, thank you, Minghao, but I'm not sure about this. All the people who came were straight from a crack house if you do not remember. And, which person would I possibly like-?" And as if on cue, the heavy thundering of footsteps descended the stairs quickly before becoming louder and louder with each step. Then out of nowhere, a man on the topflight of stairs appeared, and the moment he saw Wonwoo, a look of recognition appeared on his face before he was hurriedly going down the steps again. Only this time, somewhere on the third or fourth flight down, the back of his sneaker got trapped on the stair, making him lose balance. Wonwoo didn't have the luxury to absorb the situation until a heavyweight is pushed onto his chest, thus tumbling him backward and hitting the hardwood below him.

He felt the pain start to blossom on his tail bone and winced. His eyes have been closed the moment he felt himself falling, but dear god, once his eyes opened, the sight that beheld him almost whiplashed him to the moon because the man on top of him may have been the most attractive guy he's seen in a while.

It takes him three seconds to analyze what has happened, and what he comes up with suddenly makes his face start to burn. The guy is hovering over him with at least three inches between them, and he's got Wonwoo caged in his arms. However, he does feel a hand holding, borderline _cradling_ , the back of his head, and a small part of him is thanking this random dude for helping him prevent a head injury. Well, there would have been no chance for it happening if he didn't trip down the stairs in the first place- but still. Then his mind short-circuits once realizing that said hand feels warm against his nape, the urge to set himself on fire prevalent in the back of his mind.

They stay like that, frozen until they hear the giggle of the landlady from the entrance of the building. "My, my, kids these days. So bold." And that makes them both clamor to their feet and try to explain the situation to her, but she doesn't give a second glance as she walks away.

Wonwoo doesn't have it in him to face the man who bumped into him, much more start a conversation. He can't recall who this guy is; he's never seen him in this building or this part of the city before.

And suddenly, Wonwoo's mind is replaying back to random dude hovering on top of him with no space for the lord, and his cheeks start to heat up again. Damn, why did this feel like some sort of K-Drama scene?

A cough startled him out of his inner monologue, and Wonwoo fought to turn his head only for the guy to stare right into his eyes while the littlest smile settles on his face.

 _Wow, he's cute, oh no_.

"I take it that your Wonwoo-ssi?" Shit, somebody save Wonwoo right now. Even his voice is attractive.

Though his raging thoughts take over every crevice of his mind, his normal emotionless face settled. He nodded. "That's me. Why do you ask?" His gut started to go haywire because what else would a person need from him at this time, on this day? His mind goes to that _one_ possibility but pushes it to the side in an instant.

The guy scratched his neck with embarrassment apparent in his features, gaze downcast while strands of black hair fell in front of his eyes. Wonwoo battled the urge to pinch his cheeks because that was so endearing, fuck, and his heart might explode any minute. He does not understand why his thoughts went there, and it was introducing a sweat to his forehead. "Uh, I'm not sure if you knew already, but- um, Xu Minghao-"

And there it was. Wonwoo saw this coming but tried to ignore it. How in the world did Minghao, out of all people, manage to convince this really attractive stranger to want to apply to Wonwoo's ad (plea) for a roommate.

_Wait, Minghao!_

Wonwoo's eyes widen, and the guy noticed. "Oh, what's wrong?"

"My phone," He mumbled under his breath, already checking the floors to see where it landed during the impact. After turning back, he finally noticed it next to random dude's foot.

Hilariously enough, Minghao was still on the line. Except now he was threatening to go there himself because _it's been too quiet for too long._

"Hey, Hao. I'm back. Sorry about that." He apologized. "There was just a little..." Wonwoo's eyes fleeted to the man next to him who was looking at him with expectancy in his eyes with his head tilted to the side. He stomped down whatever feeling was suddenly coming up his chest and continued the conversation. "Accident. Don't worry though. It's no big deal."

The call goes on from there. The guy butted in every time Minghao mentioned him, who Wonwoo knew by now was Kim Mingyu. He recently moved from Anyang to Seoul to get a bachelor's degree so he can take up law, and he had been trying to find a place to stay for quite a while without any luck. How Minghao found Mingyu was pretty funny. Jun and he didn't want to feel bad for not helping their friend solve at least one of his problems, so they went to the train station to scout for a potential roommate for Wonwoo. To Minghao's utter delight, he spotted a familiar face—familiar face being a childhood friend from when he was a scrawny bastard. It was impossible to not recognize the tall, bumbling fool trying his best to follow the directions his phone was giving him.

Minghao practically ran up to the man and tackled him, for lack of a better term.

So, that's how it all started. Mingyu explaining his situation, and Junhui and Minghao taking advantage of said situation. After that, they told Mingyu to head to his address and introduce himself there, and by god, did he make quite the introduction. He was knocking on his door for ten straight minutes without a response so he decided to come back later in the day. What happened next is the whole tripping accident, which was also still blaring in Wonwoo's head.

Easy to say, Mingyu passed the interview quickly. It had taken a total of five minutes, and Wonwoo knew that he would be a reliable person right off the bat. Knowing how to cook, clean, repair things, _and_ be genuinely pleasant to be around at the same time, he would have been a fool not to accept Mingyu.

So much for a miracle falling from the heavens. He guessed he was extremely lucky.

And here they are two years later. Wonwoo slowly spiraling into madness with Mingyu being his anchor, whilst said person is currently thriving as a junior. He's jealous.

Before he knows it, Mingyu is making his way back to him with two mugs in each hand and an ever-growing grin plastering itself on his face. Wonwoo can never get over the fact that his canines peak out whenever he smiles, and it makes him slowly tear himself up inside.

Mingyu settles himself next to him and hands him his familiar white cat-themed mug of Jasmine tea while taking a sip out of his own- a similar one, ceramic with ears and all, except his, was in the form of a golden retriever. Both of them went out on a sudden mall date _("It's a date!" "No, Mingyu. We just need a new electric fan.")_ and saw the adorably designed cups in the department store. Mingyu heavily insisted on buying them because _C'mon, Hyung! It's so cute!_ , and who was Wonwoo to change his mind? Especially with the younger excitedly pointing out how the look of the cat mug complimented Wonwoo and how the protruding cat ears on the sides of the ceramic cup reminded him of the older for whatever reason.

"So," Mingyu faces Wonwoo with a smile stretching to the right corner of his lips. "Is this a _please-throw-me-into-the-Han River_ or _please-throw-them-into-the-Han River_ type of partner?"

One of the many problems Wonwoo faces in this current time in his life is the glaringly blatant crush he harbors for his roommate. He realized it a week after Mingyu properly moved into his—well—their apartment, and he has not shaken off the feeling since.

Damn Mingyu for being exactly what Wonwoo envisioned his dream man to be like: funny, sweet, caring, and a big dosage of hot—literally tall, dark, and handsome even. It's a mystery how the younger man has never been in a recent relationship based on Wonwoo's knowledge because what functioning human being looks at Mingyu and doesn't think he's the embodiment of the perfect partner?

Speaking of which, Wonwoo doesn't even know if the guy was even gay or not, and it's driving him insane. Almost hilarious how in their two years of living together _and_ friendship, he had no idea what Mingyu's sexuality was. Jun said he was pitiful.

The only people he has confided with about the problem was his close group of friends (excluding Mingyu himself) consisting of Junhui, Minghao, his friends who have already graduated: Jisoo and Jeonghan, and his three classmates from freshman year that managed to stick with him till now: Jihoon, Soonyoung, and Seokmin. He doesn't know how their group formed, but it's still going strong.

Oh, what a laugh Minghao had when he found out. Wonwoo was on the peak of his denial, and everyone took notice. Usually, he was pretty good, amazing actually, at hiding whatever emotion he had, the familiar blank stare being absolute gospel for everyone around Wonwoo. It's not until his junior year did Jeonghan and Jihoon see him sulkier than normal that the speculation began. But, that one day they saw him visibly upset about Mingyu being too sick to function with him constantly trying to escape their annual lunch date to go check on the guy that they all realized that their _tsundere_ of a friend may have some special feelings towards his roommate.

Minghao absolutely destroyed Wonwoo's pride, and he will never forgive the hookup jokes that destroyed said pride. It's been eight months; he's a senior now, and he still hasn't let it go.

He _tries_ to tell himself every day that it isn't his fault for liking Mingyu. If anything, it's the sheer care and affection that seems to radiate off of his body at all times that burrowed itself deep into Wonwoo's soul, so, if anything, it's Mingyu's fault. Yet it doesn't make sense. How did he come from hating to high-five Soonyoung to loving the feeling of Mingyu bear-hugging him in his sudden bursts of excitement? And though Wonwoo constantly begs him to put him the fuck down, he conceals the grin that is ever-present on his lips.

Those are the thoughts haunting him in his Psychology class while his professor drones about some study, and though he is desperately trying to focus, he's thinking about fluffy brown hair and toothy smiles. Seokmin, who is already bored out of his mind, notices Wonwoo gripping his poor blue pen for dear life, and softly shoves his shoulders to help him get out of it. "I know you're plowing over your gay panic about Mingyu right now, but I don't want the ink in your pen to explode." He points to Wonwoo's fingers which have turned a deep shade of pink.

Similarly, the apples of his cheeks turn the same color. He shoots Seokmin a glare, but, disappointingly, his bored look doesn't falter; the students beside them who catch his gaze though are already shrinking in on themselves in fear. "Will you shut up?" He whispers in his normal tone of voice, but the younger can hear the tiny hint of embarrassment.

"You're really funny, Hyung. I never thought you'd be so lovesick!" Seokmin whisper-shouts with a mischievous grin on his face. Wonwoo freezes and discreetly looks around him to see if anyone heard him, and he thanks the universe that no one is eavesdropping on their conversation. However, his need to stuff Seokmin's loud fucking mouth with heaps of tissue is growing.

Wonwoo, uncharacteristically, huffs like a child. He diverts his attention back to the professor, and throughout the remaining time of class, pinches Seokmin every time he makes a remark about Mingyu which shuts him up in intervals. The damn kid can't stop talking for his sake.

After a grueling forty minutes of being _bullied_ by his _dongsaeng_ , he's speed-walking out of the building, not minding the shouts behind him as he navigates himself to the nearest place to hide. Honestly, being teased was now a normal occurrence for him, but he still wants to strangle his friends every time it happens.

Once he shakes Seokmin off his tail by absolute luck, he starts walking aimlessly around the campus grounds. It's three in the afternoon, and he doesn't feel like heading home just yet. He does not want to admit it, but Mingyu makes him more nervous than any presentation or exam, even after living with him for two excruciatingly painful years. Though he does enjoy his company, there's always the presence of a gut-twisting feeling when Mingyu smiles in his direction or gets too close for comfort. He may act like an emotionless asshole on the outside, but only the people who knew of his inner turmoil would be able to detect him going insane by even a twitch of his eye on his otherwise uninterested face.

Wonwoo feels most pathetic when he dreams of Mingyu reciprocating his feelings. When he falls asleep, he sees them walking through a park, linked at the pinkies. It would be the most YA romance novel-esque scene with the trees' leaves falling gently to the ground, a calm cloudless day with the sun handsomely illuminating Mingyu's already golden skin, and the park void of anyone to interrupt them. Mingyu's smile always takes over his dreams. They're irresistible, and he wouldn't mind— _hell—_ he would pray to see that smile every waking moment of his life. They talk in hushed giddiness that he doesn't know what they're saying, but according to the fond look on both their faces, it doesn't matter. Wonwoo, the secret romantic he is, loves the cheesiness of it all. He hates to admit it, but the cliches make him swoon to all heaven. He thinks of Mingyu laying soft, barely-there kisses to the knuckles of his hands as he proclaims quietly the sweet nothings that revolve around Wonwoo's mind from absorbing so many novels, and he can't think of anything more perfect.

The moment he wakes up from those dreams, he pointedly avoids Mingyu until he can properly form a meaningful sentence without thinking about the younger man's lips on him.

Mingyu's presence in his life has been both a great blessing and an undeniable curse. He doesn't know if Mingyu was conscious of doing it, but he was certainly taking care of him. All the breakfasts at exactly ten in the morning, the worried texts when his Wonwoo senses start flaring up, and the overall care he gives with both of them living together. Maybe Wonwoo is delusional as fuck, reading into things too much. He doesn't know. What he knows is that he's been driven in between a rock and a hard place and has no idea how in the world to escape.

Wonwoo might have been in a semi-trance because he only notices now how he's at the far corner of the campus, the more obscure part. He checks the time and is baffled when he realizes he's been walking for a good ten minutes without registering anything. He is about to turn and finally head home, but a muffled, pained sound catches his ears. Pausing his movements, he stays quiet for a moment. The sound comes back again, only this time a bit louder and high pitched. Wonwoo follows it, being to the right of him where shrubbery and flowers are decorated, and notices slight movement swaying the stems and leaves around. His steps are slow as he slowly approaches the sound while moving his body down to a kneeling position. He gently parts the stems to find the smallest kitten he has ever seen, dirty and severely malnourished in the way its fur is grimly covered in dirt and its skin sticking to the bones. The cat's eyes are shut, some weird goop on both ends of the eyes as it's swollen over. It smells him and starts moving its head in different directions then tries to stand. On weak legs, it wobbles and falls.

His chest constricts, and he knows right there and then that he is not leaving this kitten on its own. He slips his wool sweater off and slowly goes to wrap it around the kitten, making sure to swaddle it in a way it feels comfortable. Once he knows he's got it warm with the way it cuddles deeper into the fabric with a soft meow, he's speed-walking yet again but back to his apartment.

Wonwoo pushes the door open with the unceremonious screech of the rusted hinges which would normally give him a mini migraine. He doesn't give a damn though as he kicks the door shut and quickly, but steadily, heads to the back of the kitchen in hopes of finding an unused box. The kitten is in his left arm, swaddled like a baby, while his right goes through the miscellaneous junk they keep in the bottom cabinet. His mind is so intent on finding that box that he doesn't register padded footsteps making its way to him.

"Hyung? What are you doing?" Comes Mingyu's drowsy voice followed right after with a yawn. Wonwoo looks up at the sight and internally fawns over his unruly hair and sleep-ridden eyes, but he mentally kicks himself and focuses back on the situation at hand. His hold on the kitten tightens slightly as he stands back up. Mingyu is looking at him with question and curiosity. "And why are you holding your sweater like that?"

"Do we have any kind of box or anything?" Mingyu squints his eyes in confusion but nods anyway. He makes his way back to his room and comes out with an Adidas shoebox. Wonwoo quirks his lips and gets it with his free hand, heading to the coffee table in the living room.

Mingyu follows behind, still sleepy and dazed. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Instead of answering, Wonwoo unfurls the sweater and places the cat in the shoe box, the taller still clueless with the view obstructed by his back. "Wonwoo-hyung?"

Said man leaps to his feet and beelines for his bedroom, going straight to his drawers right after and picking out a towel to at least have the kitten comfortable. He's heading back to the living room with a fluffy lavender colored bath towel he forgot he even had and is greeted by Mingyu's concerned face, all furrowed eyebrows, and worried eyes, back hunched over their pained new guest. His mouth is already partially opened, perhaps to ask another question, but Wonwoo beats him to it. "I found it on campus. We need to go to the vet. Stat."

Not even a beat after, Mingyu is already up and running to his room to snatch himself a decent pair of pants and his car keys like he wasn't a sleepy mess just a moment before. Meanwhile, the older racks their fridge for the leftover chicken roast they had the day before after placing the towel neatly in the box, all while the tiny kitten is whining pathetically from across the apartment. Wonwoo quickly shreds the meat in small enough sized chunks and fills a circular Tupperware with water, striding back to the box where the kitten is and places it all inside. It doesn't hesitate to sniff out the food and eat it like the chicken was going to disappear if it didn't. Wonwoo's heart cracks a little more seeing how hungry the little thing is, all bony with a bloated stomach.

Before he knows it, Mingyu is calling out to him whilst stumbling to put his sneakers on, keys dangling loudly in his hand. He picks up the shoe box and heads to where the taller is waiting for him, and they head down to the small parking space outside and get into Mingyu's red Honda Civic, the latter jamming the keys into the ignition and Wonwoo trying to soothe the cat on his lap from the passenger's seat.

It would take a good fifteen minutes to reach the pet clinic, ten if traffic would take the slightest mercy on them. With the bumps and turns on the road, Wonwoo calms it down with a finger petting up the nose and forehead accompanied by hushed words. After reaching a stoplight, Mingyu sighs and turns to him, eyebrows furrowed like before. "I checked it out, Hyung."

Wonwoo stops comforting the cat but continues petting it. He raises his eyebrow at the statement. "What do you mean?"

"Well, first of all," his eyes focus back on the road once a car honks at him from behind. "it has an eye infection. That's why the eyes are closed; it's just dried discharge that crusted over. Secondly," he leans back comfortably, but the look on his face doesn't change. From where Wonwoo is sitting, Mingyu looks effortlessly handsome with his hair still slightly messy from sleep and yet looking as good as ever with a serious expression that is steely, almost intimidating; Wonwoo falters for only a second. "the bloated stomach, Hyung. Jesus, it might have some kind of worm or something. Damn..." His eyes turn sad, and then he mumbles, "Poor baby."

It's like a hand reaches through Wonwoo's chest and squeezes both his heart and his lungs because he simultaneously can't breathe and function. He tries to shoo away the heat already crawling up his neck, and a thought finally forms in his disgustingly infatuated mind. "Oh, wow, Gyu. How did you know this?"

And with a shrug, Mingyu says as casual as he always is, "I volunteered in shelters and rescues a while back. I stopped just a few months into freshman year because my hands got kinda occupied, but I'm really missing it, y' know?" Wonwoo has never felt his heart flip like that ever, and he is certain that this knowledge is going to be the death of him. If Wonwoo was a normal human being, which he wished he was, he would've applauded Mingyu's kind heart for doing such work, but he wasn't; he's currently flushed from the tips of his fingers to his toes, yet he's proud of the power of willing down a blush to his face by how used to it he is by now.

He attempts to anyway because even if he was a _bit_ boy crazy, he likes to think of himself as a functioning member of society. He gives a small smile in Mingyu's direction, and like he senses it, the man looks at his face. "That's amazing, Mingyu." And then an identical smile appears on the other's lips, and now they're both grinning at each other. It stays like that for a few seconds until Wonwoo starts feeling like a complete idiot. His eyes drop down to the box on his lap with a little cough. The kitten is purring against his finger, nudging it from time to time with small, squeaky meows coming one after another. His weak heart trembles again. "I'm glad you're helping me though."

A low chuckle is heard from his left. "Of course, Wonwoo-hyung."

"And you will administer these drops over the next few days or until the eyes look comprehensively back to normal." The vet hands a box of eye drops over to Wonwoo to examine. "Also, this is for the tapeworms. We gave the shots already, but this is for if the parasites do come back. After two to three weeks, she'll be as good as new." She gives a box of liquid medicine into Mingyu's already expecting hand. "You know, if you boys would've come any later than today, she could have ended up blind or even dead. It seems as though this has been for a while."

Wonwoo frowns at the fact. This baby with no mother, no litter, no food, no shelter, plus the eye infection and worms, managed to stay strong for so long, and the thought that if he wasn't wandering around campus at that specific time, he would've missed the poor thing.

He's cut out of his thoughts by Mingyu nudging his hand with his own. Once he looks at him to his right, a sad yet optimistic look is on his face, and he knows Mingyu doesn't want him to think about the negatives but, instead, the bright circumstances. Wonwoo saved this kitten and made her life a whole deal better. The smile brings him back to reality, and his chest starts to feel warm.

"You did good." Mingyu sets a comforting hand on the small of his back, and Wonwoo believes it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT I EDITED THIS LIKE 7 TIMES WHILE IT WAS PUBLISHED IM A F O O L


End file.
